TLC 2019: 5 Things WWE Could Have Done (But Didn't)

So TLC just got over, and it definitely was something. WWE wanted to end the year with something special so that they can start 2020 on the right foot. Whether they succeeded or not, is entirely up to you.

There was a whole bunch of noteworthy things that happened - the Daniel Bryan from 2011 came back to attack Bray Wyatt, the Big Dog got put down (figuratively, mind you), and Karl Anderson got sent through a table full of fried chicken.

While I'm sure everyone is going to talk about what happened, let's take the other road and talk about what didn't happen. Now obviously, we're not going to talk about things that are so absurd that they had to have been written by a bot or something ("I can't believe that Brock Lesnar didn't show up and have an open challenge, and then he's answered by The Fiend!"). We'll just discuss what actually could have been done but simply wasn't.

#5 Have an Intercontinental Championship match

Is it just me, or has Shinsuke Nakamura been doing a whole lot of nothing recently? After he ate the pin at Survivor Series, he's just kinda been there and not done a whole lot, except for tag matches. What's even stranger is that WWE went through all the trouble of designing a handsome new belt, but the champion isn't really doing anything of note. It almost feels like a repeat of his United States Championship reign from last year.

Since the Viking Raiders already did that whole 'open challenge' brouhaha at TLC, it would have been odd to have Nakamura host one as well, but that's not the point. WWE had three weeks to do something, but they didn't. Heck, even a backstage segment where Kalisto challenges Nakamura and then promptly gets the snot kicked out of him in the ring would have sufficed.

Hopefully, things turn around for the Intercontinental Championship in 2020.

#4 The 24/7 Championship Shenanigans

Now I don't really keep up with the wrestler's personal life, so I don't know if R-Truth is on vacation or something like that, but it would have been neat to see the 24/7 Championship make an appearance last night. TLC is supposed to be chaotic and crazy. So is the 24/7 Championship. Now no one is advocating for an honest to goodness Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the 24/7 Championship, but it could have appeared.

Imagine a backstage segment where R Truth gets chased by some cruiserweight and then hits him with a chair or puts him through a table. Boom, the spirit of TLC lives on in the championship!

It is highly unlikely that anyone is actively complaining that they didn't see any shenanigans at the show last night. If anything, they're too busy complaining about that Corbin - Reigns match, Daniel Bryan looking like an NXT rookie, or Charlotte kind of being mean to a probably concussed Kairi Sane. Or maybe they're laughing at Karl Anderson and the fried chicken.

Ultimately, this is one of those things that could have been without, and so it was. No harm, no foul.

#3 A conclusive ending to the Raw Tag Team Championship match

The Viking Raiders decided to hold an open challenge for their Raw Tag Team Championship at TLC. They are so big and strong that it would take a pair of real tough guys to take their titles from them. Enter the O.C. These two bald guys like to be mean to other people, so they answered the open challenge.

The match went on for a bit, and the wrestlers did their moves. It was a fast-paced match that spilled out of the ring and then promptly ended in a double count-out. While this was happening, there was a table of KFC at ringside. I'm sure there's probably a valid reason for this, but I must have missed it. Anyway, we all know where that went.

Why WWE opted for the double count-out, no one can really say why, and I don't really like people who think that they can ("knowing Vince McMahon..."). Perhaps they didn't want either team to lose?

If WWE wanted to keep both men looking strong, then why not have someone else answer the open challenge? Heck, let the Singh Brothers answer, and then put them both through the table. We get a conclusion to the match, plus the KFC thing. Problem solved, I guess?

#2 An actual match with Bray Wyatt

When this match was first announced for TLC, no one really knew what to expect. How different was a normal Bray Wyatt from the scary monster 'Fiend' Wyatt? Would there even be a difference? Those questions would soon be answered.

Here's how the "match" (and I use that word loosely) went down. Miz attacks, but Wyatt no-sells, and then eventually he hits Sister Abigail and wins. He was shown to be slipping in and out of the Fiend mode throughout the match, which was sort of cool. The problem with Wyatt right now is that his character limits his matches. He just soaks up the offense, no-sells a whole lot, and then wins. While they've sort of toned it down since that whole debacle at Hell in a Cell, it's still not particularly interesting to watch.

Now, I am wholly unqualified to give out advice to WWE, but I was simply thinking about how things could have played out if they had an actual match. You know, trading offense, story, all that jazz. That technically happened at TLC, but not really. But perhaps in the coming months, WWE will have the opportunity to flesh Wyatt out more when he's not The Fiend.

#1 Give Roman Reigns the win

Now, I will say this: I did not hate the Reigns - Corbin match. It could have been paced better and used more violence, but it wasn't as bad as everyone claims it to be. Of course, if you hate that match with a fiery passion, then an unsolicited opinion will have little to no bearing on your thoughts.

While this result isn't bad, it also could have definitely gone the other way. Many would have thought that this was almost a sure win for Reigns. The Big Dog's buddies almost certainly could have stepped in and evened the odds. Does Reigns have no friends?

It's not like him winning would have been out of nowhere, and Corbin is the kind of character who can lose and still be a nuisance because he's a jerk. This was one of the more surprising results of TLC.

With this high profile loss to Corbin, one can only wonder how the Big Dog plans on bouncing back. Will this feud continue, or will both men move on to bigger and brighter things?

Edited by Anurag Sharma